Advantages of getting pregnant during a baby bust

The number of births had been rising in the United States since 2002, and in 2007, it broke a 50-year-old record high, set during the baby boom. But last year, births began to decline, by nearly 2 percent.

The National Center for Health Statistics reports that 4,247,000 babies were born in the U.S. in 2008, down roughly 68,000 from the year before.

Many experts blame the economy for the baby bust. The largest declines were in California and Florida, two states hit hardest by the housing crisis. In 2008 California logged 14,500 fewer births than in 2007, a 2.6 percent decrease. Experts believe another contributing factor is the net decline in immigration in recent years.

And so it sounds as if we’re in the midst of a baby bust–and you know what that means? Fewer pregnant women, fewer babies, more availability in the hospital delivery room, not as many stroller traffic jams on Noe Valley’s 24th Street, fewer kids applying to preschool… Yes, there are all sorts of advantages (many of them trivial and silly) to getting pregnant during a baby bust–and to raising your child amongst a smaller population of kids. Here are the top 10:

1) The city’s most popular obgyn will start accepting new patients again.

2) Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough will always be in stock at your local supermarket. Fewer pregnant women with crazy cravings means a greater selection in the ice cream aisle.

3) At your birth, you might actually get the anesthesiologist into your room to set you up with an epidural because he won’t be occupied with a dozen other moms screaming, “I’m going to kill you if you don’t stop the pain now!”

4) If you’re going for the natural approach, you might actually have the full attention of the hospital’s on-staff doula.

5) You’re more likely to stay overnight at the hospital in your own room–rather than get stuck in a shared room.

6) The city’s most popular and best pediatrician will be accepting new patients again.

7) The sales rack at Gymboree will be filled with adorable, cheap clothes available in all sizes. Fewer moms, means fewer Gymboree shoppers.

9) Your kid will have an easier time getting into preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school, college. Heck, he’ll have an easier time getting a job when he graduates–or making the Olympic team. Fewer babies, means less competition.